It’s usually simple to distinguish between nouns that are masculine from those that are feminine based on their endings. In general, masculine nouns end in –
In this article, we’ll review Spanish nouns with different meanings depending on their gender. They are practically identical but have two separate meanings, one for the masculine form and the other for the feminine form.
Spanish Nouns with Different Meanings
All Spanish nouns are either masculine or feminine. Their ending letters or their meaning usually let you know which gender they are. However, there are some Spanish nouns with different meanings: one for their masculine form and another one for their feminine form. Let’s see some examples.
El capital vs La capital
Un grupo de empresas ha invertido un gran capital en este proyecto.
A group of businesses invested a lot of money in this project.
Van a construir varios edificios en Luanda, la capital de Angola.
They’re going to construct several buildings in Luanda, the capital of Angola.
El cura vs La cura
Su enfermedad no tiene cura y probablemente morirá pronto.
There’s no cure for his disease, and he’ll probably die soon.
Fernando quiere compartir sus pensamientos con algún cura.
Fernando wants to share his thoughts with some priest.
El cometa vs La cometa
Let’s continue with the list of Spanish nouns with different meanings depending on their gender.
El cometa Halley pasa cerca de la Tierra cada 75 años.
Halley’s comet passes close to the Earth every 75 years.
En el museo hay una exposición de cometas chinas antiguas.
There’s an exhibition of old Chinese kites at the museum.
El frente vs La frente
The masculine noun
Necesitan más personas en el frente, pero este conflicto en concreto no se puede resolver solo con soldados.
They need more people at the front line, but this conflict in particular cannot be only solved with soldiers.
La madre ha besado la frente de Ana para comprobar que no tiene fiebre.
The mom has kissed Ana’s forehead to check she doesn’t have temperature.
El orden vs La orden
The following two Spanish nouns with different meanings have the same translation into English. They both mean order. However, the masculine noun
Los soldados obedecen al capitán y respetan el orden establecido.
The soldiers obeyed the captain and respected the established order.
Lamentablemente, tenemos que aceptar las órdenes del director.
Unfortunately, we have to accept the director’s orders.
El parte vs La parte
Una parte importante de estos habitantes no está respetando las normas.
An important part of these inhabitants isn’t respecting the rules.
Si tenemos un accidente, damos parte al seguro y ellos se encargan de todo.
If we have an accident, we report it to the insurance company and they take care of everything.
El radio vs La radio
Let’s finish the list of Spanish nouns with different meanings with
Tuve un accidente y me rompí el radio del brazo derecho.
I had an accident and I broke my right arm radius.
En la radio hablan de temas interesantes. Este programa es mi favorito.
They talk about interesting topics on the radio. This is my favorite program.
Exercises
Here are some exercises to practice the Spanish nouns with different meanings we have reviewed in this article.